Video Game Dictionary - The Origins of ‘Easter Eggs’ in Games

Easter Eggs

IPA: ˈiːstər ɛɡz

Definition

‘Easter Eggs’ in games refer to hidden content, features, or jokes added by developers for players to find. Easter Eggs are not an essential part of the game’s progression, but instead are a bonus found when exploring. These features were coined as Easter Eggs as finding them is like going on a virtual Easter Egg hunt.

The first recognized Easter Egg in a game was in Adventure (1980) published by Atari. At the time, some games studios did not credit developers within the game. So, designer Warren Robinett took it upon himself to develop an ‘Easter Egg’. If a player took a pixel (known as the Grey Dot) to a certain place in the game, the message “Created by Warren Robinett” would appear.

A few years later in 1986 the game Gradius was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto believed that it was too difficult, so he added a cheat code (↑↑↓↓←→←→BA) to give the player almost all the game’s power-ups immediately. This pattern was later called the Konami Code and was recognized as an original staple of Easter Eggs in games.

Now, the term also extends to other forms of media like films, TV shows, and books. Easter Eggs help to engage players and viewers and provide another way for creators and developers to connect with their audience.

Example Usage:

“Did you see the Easter Egg? There’s a billboard in the city that teases their next game.”

“There’s a statue in the game that looks like the boss from their 2007 title. Cool Easter Egg!”